Residency Requirements

In-state tuition classification status requires domicile (legal, primary residence) in Colorado for one full year immediately preceding the first day of the term. Domicile is a legal characteristic that everyone has, and you can have only one domicile at any one time.

If your parents are not domiciled in Colorado, you must be a qualified person to begin the one-year domiciliary period. A qualified person is someone who is either:

Domicile

Domicile is defined as your true, fixed, and permanent home and place of habitation and is made up of two components:

Physical presence within the state, and

Intent to reside in Colorado permanently.

Evidence of Colorado domicile includes actions that in your circumstances would normally be expected of, or that would be characteristic of, any permanent resident. For example, vehicle registration is relevant only if you have a motor vehicle. You are expected to take appropriate action on all factors relevant in your circumstances.

New residents are allowed a reasonable period of time after first coming to Colorado to take appropriate actions consistent with domiciliary intent.

The Tuition Classification Officer considers the following evidence, as specified by law, and any additional relevant information, when evaluating Petitions for Tuition Classification:

Colorado driver’s license. If you have a driver’s license from another state, you must apply for a Colorado driver’s license within 30 days of moving to Colorado (if you are employed) or within 120 days (if unemployed). If you do not drive, you may obtain a Colorado identification card.

Motor vehicle registration. If you operate a motor vehicle, you must register it in Colorado within 30 days of moving to Colorado (if employed) or within 120 days (if unemployed). This law applies to any vehicle you have, whether or not you are the registered owner.

Voter registration. You may register to vote with your county clerk, or when you obtain your Colorado driver’s license. Although voting is not required by law, it is nonetheless an indicator of one’s intent to create a domicile.

Permanent employment or acceptance of future permanent employment in Colorado.

Payment of Colorado state income tax (if your income is sufficient to be taxed). All taxable income accrued after you move to Colorado, regardless of source, must be reported to the Colorado Department of Revenue. You should file part-year resident returns for each state of residence for the year you move to Colorado. For subsequent years, you should file a full-year resident Colorado return.

Ownership of residential real property in Colorado that is your primary residence. Ownership of vacation or income property is not an indication of domicile.

Other factors which are specific to your situation may be considered also, and should be documented.

Because domicile is defined as true, fixed, and permanent home, persons who are physically present in Colorado only on a temporary basis cannot establish domicile merely by taking the above actions. Establishing a new domicile requires actual residence on a permanent basis.

The following items are evidence of maintenance of domicile outside of Colorado:

Failure to pay Colorado state income tax (if your income is sufficient to be taxed). Income earned in another state by a resident of Colorado is taxable in Colorado. Filing a nonresident Colorado tax return is persuasive evidence of domicile outside Colorado.

Failure to comply with any law imposing a mandatory duty on a permanent resident of Colorado. Examples include failure to register a motor vehicle and failure to change your driver’s license to Colorado within the statutory periods.

Maintenance of a home in another state.

Prolonged absence from Colorado. Examples include residing in another state when not enrolled as a student or between academic terms.

Any other factor which are specific to your situation that indicate non-Colorado domicile.

Determination of domicile is a subjective decision requiring analysis of each petitioner’s individual evidence of domicile, not a checklist or formula to be blindly followed. A change in tuition classification will be made when the University official is convinced that domicile has occurred at least one full year prior to the start of the semester for which the applicant is petitioning.

Because Colorado residency status is governed solely by Colorado regulations, lack of eligibility for in-state status in another state does not guarantee in-state status in Colorado. The tuition classification statutes place the burden of proof on you to provide clear and convincing evidence of eligibility.

The state statutes do not allow the Tuition Classification Officer to be flexible with the established dates in determining whether or not a domicile has been established for residency status for any given semester. There is no provision in the state statutes for retroactive compliance.

Information submitted to qualify for in-state classification is subject to independent verification. Individuals submitting false information or falsified supporting documents are subject to both criminal charges and University disciplinary proceedings.

The only authorized information regarding residency for tuition purposes comes from the Tuition Classification Officer at the University, and the Officer is not bound by any misinformation given by other persons.

Tuition classification is governed by state law (Colorado Revised Statutes §23-7-101, et. seq.) and by judicial decisions that apply to all public institutions of higher education in Colorado.

The University of Northern Colorado does not have discretion to make exceptions to the rules as established by state law.